Dreams of the First Age: Tales of the Rise
by Walker Of The Yellow Path
Summary: The First Age. An Age of Wonders, of Dreams. That's what has been told. But... Was it really that great? Maybe mankind is better off, in this Second Age. Maybe the Age of Sorrows is necessary, for all.
1. Prologue

In the beginning, their was only the Wyld. Then the Primordials came, and worked their wondrous Creation on the Wyld. But then, the servitors the Primordials created to administer everything rebelled, sending the Exalted to kill and imprison their masters. And thus began the First Age, when the last Primordials were imprisoned within Malfeas. The Age of Wonders, The Age of Dreams.

Or at least, that's what I've been taught. It doesn't really matter anyway. The Zeroth Age of Primordial Rulership is gone. Still, sometimes I wonder.

What really happened?

* * *

_Sutra of the Troubled Maiden_

_There once was a maiden..._

_Who was troubled by things_

_she could not grasp._

_She searched far and wide for answers_

_To questions she did not know._

_And when she died, having learned nothing_

_She said, "The answer lies within the question."_


	2. 1: The Merchant and the Silver Child

"Artemis! Wait!"

The teen panted as he chased her through the City of Meru. Both knew there was no chance that he would be able to catch her, so she obligingly slowed her pace to a jog, then to a stop, letting him catch up.

"C'mon Rom, is it that hard to follow me?" Artemis teased. She was a young slip of a girl, only forteen, with long black hair, light silver eyes, and a smile that spoke of mischievousness.

"When you run faster than Stormwind, yeah!" Rom, short for Romulus, muttered, as he sought to regain his breath. He was a scrawny boy, fourteen or fifteen years old, with dark green hair, light brown eyes, and an honest face.

In response, she lightly shoved him. "I heard that you know. Anyways, this is what I wanted to show you." She said, indicating the scene in front of the two.

"What is i-WOOAH!"

A large palace, adorned with a roof made out of a single crystal, bedecked in Gold and Silver. It was a monument to the glory of The Exalted. Inscribed upon it, were phrases and words speaking of the glory of the Lawgivers, the might of the Stewards, the sight of the Viziers, and the numbers of the Dragons.

"Like it?"

"I've never seen anything like it before! This is fantastic! What is it?" Indeed, the boy was astounded that something so great could exist.

"It's the Hall of the Deliberative."

He turned to her. "The Solar Deliberative? This?"

"Yep," she smiled.

"You have another reason for bringing me here." It wasn't a question. He could tell she was planning something. In the two years they'd known each other, he could always tell if she had something planned.

At this, she blushed. "Umm, well, your going to be leaving soon, for another year. But I, well, I uh, wanted to ask Mom, when the council ended, which is in like, a few minutes, whether or not," She was blushing furiously, " I could um, go-with-you-this-time." The last words were squeaked out at a fast rate.

He gave her a look, "Go with me? You know that would be dangerous, right? I'm just a member of a minor merchant caravan. We don't have any Exalts guarding us, not one. Are you sure?"

The look she sent back was angry. "Of course I know that! I.. Just... You leave for so long, nearly a year. Even with the message Artifacts, we don't speak often. I'm worried for you, and I want to be with you. I just, just..."

"Oooh, is my daughter finally confessing her love?"

The two both froze, and turned to the voice behind them.

"MOM?!" cried Artemis, as Romulus rose and bowed to the Ancient Lunar.

"Lady Lunaire." He kept his head down, not wishing to upset the literal force of nature in front of him.

"Rise, Romulus." As he did so, she turned to her daughter. "Now, what is this I hear about wanting to leave?"

Her daughter stammered under her gaze, "Umm... Well, I just wanted to ask, Romulus is going to be leaving, again soon, and I wanted to know if I could ummm maybe, go with him?"

Lady Diana Lunaire studied her daughter closely, as if looking for an answer to some unsaid question. "You really want to go?"

"Yes."

"You know it's dangerous, right?"

"Yes."

"Hmmm... How long do you think it will last?"

"A year, maybe two." Artemis looked pleadingly at her mother.

"Heh. To think you suffer from wanderlust, just like me. In exchange for getting two year vacation, you'll be stationed at a Swords of Luna Wyldfront base one year from now, you will stay there for 3 years. That is the deal."

Romulus stared at the two in horror, "Wyldfront..." Suddenly, he turned to Artemis and grabbed her hand. "No! You can't! The Wyldfront bases are some of the most dangerous areas in Creation!"

"I accept, Mother."


End file.
